Denise Rich has axed her much-anticipated annual summer French Riviera soiree after giving up her US passport. The socialite was planning this year’s bash — a favorite among the wealthy jet-set — at a private house in Cannes, but she just sent out an e-mail canceling it. Rich has recently taken heat for renouncing her US citizenship for, some speculate, tax purposes. Reps deny this had anything to do with her calling off the party, telling us, “Many of her friends were finding it difficult to make it to Cannes for the night, so she decided to cancel it.” Normally held on a yacht in St. Tropez, last year’s event was canceled due to torrential rain, leaving Rich plenty of leftover food to feed her tax man.